I have developed a browser application to load, display, modify and analyze Statistics Canada tables. I believe it is superior to the agency's own app which is slow, limited and dated. Please give it a try at: philipsmith.ca/tabler

Looking at the unemployment situation facing our youngest labour market participants - 22.3% unemployed in April - it has not been this discouraging in almost 30 years. Whether seeking a career or just a part-time minimum-wage job, it seems there are no openings out there. Policy action is needed.

Exports to the US blipped up 8% in March, StatCan reported today. But the 13-month moving average does not look quite so good. #cdnecon

Statcan released its real GDP-by-province estimates for 2025 today. Among many other things, the estimates show Ontario's economy, at the heart of Canada, to be growing even more slowly than in 2024. #cdnecon

Limited-service restaurants (McDonald's et al) had their day in the sun a short while ago and now full-service dining spots are having their turn. #cdnecon

Interesting that food store sales are now a smaller % of total retail sales than pre-pandemic, despite the rapid rise of food prices. One expects food demand, in general, to be price-inelastic, although buyers can change the composition of purchases. Still I expected this share would have increased.

The two BoC "core inflation" measures both record slow but steady progress since the inflation burst in 2022. Almost, but still not quite down to the 2% steady state target.

The CPI recorded no increase in March when food and energy are excluded and the index is seasonally adjusted. For ALL the details check out my CPI dashboard: philipsmith.ca/CPI/cpi.html and I recommend setting the default chart to YOY% and the range to 2022-2026 before you start exploring. #cdnecon

This chart, from today's OECD "What's new?" email, tells quite a story. Canada's defence spending increase in 2025 over 2022 looks rather modest compared to those of the northern European countries.

The 4th quarter labour productivity statistics were released on March 4, so they are a bit stale. But I have been building dashboards for monthly Canadian economic statistics lately so here's another, for quarterly labour productivity. #cdnecon philipsmith.ca/labour_produ...

I released a short paper today presenting two new Canadian dashboards that aficionados of the economy might like. It could not have been built - not by me anyway - without the new Claude coding tool from Anthropic. The paper is free on my Substack page. philip635.substack.com/p/two-new-ca...

Here's a good paper on a problem plaguing the statistical systems of not just the US, but Canada and other countries too. It has major implications for the reliability and relevance of Statistics Canada surveys. www.brookings.edu/articles/why...

Examine today's LFS release in detail here: philipmsmith.shinyapps.io/LFStables/ or lokk at the main aggregates in the Labour group here: philipsmith.ca/macroindicat... #cdnecon

A chuckle in today's G&M cryptic crossword puzzle: "State where Prince Harry spent nine months?"

Given all this talk about the moon these days, I am posting one of my favourite youtube music videos that centres on the moon. www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Mt...

I have recently released version 1.1 of my Canadian Macroeconomic Indicators Dashboard, displaying charts, tables and metadata for 228 monthly time series. The dashboard provides flexibility to analyze the latest data in several different ways. Give it a try. philipsmith.ca/macroindicat...

I have developed a new application, autonomously updated every morning, that serves up 214 monthly Canadian economic indicators. Please give it a try and see if you like it. philipsmith.ca/macroindicat... #cdnecon

If you could use a computer app to find Statistics Canada time series, view and analyze them and download them, along with the table they are contained in if you wish, then I invite you to give my findstats app a try: philipsmith.ca/getstats/fin...

Here's what has happened to US federal government payroll employment lately, in a longer-term context. The data extend to February 2026 and come from BLS.

The Americans keep relearning the same lesson over and over again. They learned it in Vietnam and again in Iraq. Now it comes once more in Iran. When attacking a determined enemy on their own soil, they will fight back in ways you don't expect. Your bombs and heavy hardware are not enough.

Here's Canada's population growth rates since 1946. The 2020s have clearly been quite atypical, to say the least. #cdnecon

Statistics Canada released fourth quarter population estimates this morning. The total population continued to decrease (black line) due mostly to a net decline in the number of non-permanent residents. #cdnecon

Claude is amazing. Here's an app it created for me in no time at all that provides information and charts for any Statistics Canada time series vector number. Give it a go. #cdnecon www.philipsmith.ca/statcan/stat...

Mr. Poilievre takes journalists' questions of late. Today he was criticizing the govt for not starting a new pipeline project yet. A journalist should ask him how specifically the govt should do that. Ignore aboriginal rights? Ignore provincial objections? Assume the financial risks federally?

Estimated labour productivity growth in Canadian business surpassed that in the US between 1947 and 1985, fell short by 1.2 percentage points between 1985 and 2010, was about the same between 2010 and 2019, and fell short again between 2019 and 2025, this time by 1.4 percentage points. #cdnecon

Data released by Statistics Canada today indicate that capital expenditures in Canada's oil and gas extraction industry ticked up modestly in the fourth quarter. #cdnecon

I invite you to read my new substack release on the affordability issue in Canada and the US. philip635.substack.com/p/affordabil...

In the light of StatCan's upward revisions to real GDP last November, we now see the economy has generally been operating a bit above its pre-pandemic trend line since 2021, although it dipped slightly below it again in 2025 Q4. #cdnecon

Here is my chart summary of today's 2025 Q4 national accounts release from Statistics Canada. #cdnecon www.philipsmith.ca/Canadian_nat...

SEPH for December shows a 0.2% drop in employment vs. November. Total weekly compensation of employees was up 0.2% in the month and 2.6% compared to a year earlier. Real fixed-weight AHE decreased 0.2%. philipmsmith.shinyapps.io/SEPHbrowser/

Canadian restaurants were clobbered by the pandemic, but had recovered, in terms of revenue at constant prices, by late 2022. They experienced a temporary boom in late 2024 and early 2025 thanks to the GST/HST holiday on restaurant meals. Since then they have not changed much.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis released preliminary estimates for US GDP today. You can explore some of the details in my browser here: philipmsmith.shinyapps.io/NatAcctsUSA/

Here is an update to my compact set of 100 Canadian macroeconomic indicator charts. www.philipsmith.ca/Canadian_mac...

Looking in on what's been happening to consumer and business insolvencies in Canada as of December, the former continues to trend up and the latter down. #cdnecon

I had not noticed until now, but according to LFS, total labour compensation decreased marginally in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Monthly volatility must be recognized, certainly, but this was an unusually big December-to-January change and it may portend a major economic downturn.

According to Rentals.ca, the average asking rent in Canada was down 2.0% in January compared to a year earlier, continuing the decline that has been evident since October 2024. The December-to-January movement, however, suggests the decline may be coming to an end. #cdnecon

December new motor vehicle sales data for Canada, released by StatCan today, indicate dealer revenues are continuing to trend down, as are the number of units sold. They peaked in March 2025. #cdnecon

StatCan released monthly building permits statistics for December 2025 today. The data are extremely volatile, but appear to show residential construction trending down and non-residential construction activity fairly flat. #cdnecon

This chart shows average weekly hours worked by employees. The total for all industries decreased by 8.2% over the period, or an average of 0.2% a year. This is partly substitution of part-time for full-time employment. The downward trend is present in almost all industries.

Canada's LFS measures the number of hours employees work in their main job. The 2nd chart shows shares of total hours worked by industry from 1987 to 2025. Notable is the steady decline of the goods-sector, especially manufacturing, though construction has trended up. Services are a mixed picture.

1/ A half-century ago Arthur Okun, an American economist, invented the 'misery index' as the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. It is a very crude measure of general economic misery, to be sure, and it can be roundly criticized from many angles.

Canadian LFS employment rate, participation rate and unemployment rate, 1921 to 2025. #cdnecon

Canadian LFS key variables, annual per cent change, 1922 to 2025. #cdnecon

Canadian LFS key variables, 1921 to 2025. #cdnecon

Total hours worked in Canada's economy stopped growing in January, according to LFS. The 12-month growth rate of hours worked had been on a steady decline since the post-pandemic resurgence. For details on today's LFS release for the month see my LFS browser: philipmsmith.shinyapps.io/LFStables/

Here's the way objective reporters in the U.S. assess the results of the Conservatives' leadership vote on Friday.

Statistics Canada reported today that SEPH employment decreased slightly in November. SEPH has been showing a lot less employment growth for the last three years than LFS, probably due to the effect of the swings in the non-permanent resident population within LFS methodology. #cdnecon